Community Spotlight: Cohasset Education Foundation

Earlier this month, we hosted two groups of students over two nights at Work Station for the Cohasset Education Foundation's annual Phon-a-thon.

The Cohasset Education Foundation is a non-profit organization with a mission to ensure that Cohasset students, teachers, and administrators have access to the programs, materials, and equipment necessary to maintain academic excellence in today’s competitive educational environment.

Each year, the CEF raises funds “through contributions from residents, businesses, and corporate and private enterprises who recognize that excellence in public education is essential to the social and economic fabric of our community.”

The CEF has been holding its annual Phon-a-thon since 2013 – except for 2021 when it had to be canceled due to Covid restrictions. For the past eight years, Work Station has welcomed CEF to our space for this event. With an abundance of phones and ample space to work, it is a perfect venue for this type of fundraising.

Last year, for the first time, a local business offered to match donations. Kevin Lewis Real Estate initially pledged $5,000 but raised it to $10,000 after learning of the Phon-a-thon’s success. This year, he offered to match donations again up to $10,000 and, thanks in part to Kevin’s generosity, CEF broke all previous Phon-a-thon records raising a whopping $27,500!

“Kevin is a Cohasset Public Schools alum and wanted to give back to the school system.  As a real estate agent, he sees daily how outsiders view the public schools on the South Shore and wanted to support the CEF's efforts of funding grants that provide excellence to the four public schools in Cohasset: Osgood Elementary, Deer Hill Elementary, Cohasset Middle School, and Cohasset High School.” ~ Meaghan Barry, Vice President, Cohasset Education Foundation

The money raised by CEF is used to fund grants that promote academic excellence at the Cohasset Public Schools. There is a fall and spring grant cycle each year, so their fundraising events coincide with each season. CEF holds a large fall fundraising event and then an annual appeal letter is sent out in January. The Phon-a-thon is a reminder about the appeal. Depending on what spring grant application CEF receives from teachers, they typically use the Phon-a-thon donations towards funding those spring grants.

On average, the CEF raises over $150,000 per year. The funds support everything from Digital Learning and STEAM initiatives to programs that support Social and Emotional well-being. While the pandemic has impacted their ability to fundraise and hold events over the past few years, they (and we) are happy to see that it is trending back up in the right direction. 

“We are so thankful for Work Station providing us with the space to host this event to get our fundraising amounts back on track to pre-2020 levels!” ~ Meaghan Barry, Vice President, Cohasset Education Foundation

For more information or to donate to the Cohasset Education Foundation, please click here.

If you are a nonprofit interested in hosting a fundraiser or event at Work Station, please contact Work Station Community Manager, Kerry Theodore, at 781-923-0241.